Chickens

Consumers are clamoring for cage-free eggs, and producers are scrambling to meet the demand.

In 2017, nearly 16 percent of all hens in the U.S. were in cage-free production. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, about 75 percent of all laying hens will need to be cage free by 2026 to meet market demand.

A new study from University of California, Davis, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture describes how vaccines work against a deadly virus in chickens, and could offer a model for related human diseases such as chickenpox.